Basic data

The central aim of this core unit is to monitor metabolic and physiological changes of tumors in response to inhibition of the essential cellular processes within the projects and tumor models of this consortium. On a macroscopic level this will be provided by state-of-the-art non-invasive in vivo imaging modalities like positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), hyperpolarized imaging and optical imaging (OI). On a molecular level, we will apply nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomics. Furthermore, this core unit will support the consortium with the design of novel compounds, targeting the cellular processes of interest.
The Pichler lab provides an outstanding imaging platform that is equipped with three dedicated small animal PET scanners, two 7T MRI scanners, a hyperpolarizer and an optical imaging system. The synthesis of several PET tracers targeting glucose metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, proliferation, hypoxia, angiogenesis and recently also senescence is well established in the attached in-house radiopharmacy. Multiparametric imaging protocols and analysis tools and highly skilled scientific and technical personnel are in place. With this set up, we will be able to provide powerful tools to reveal molecular information about cell and tissue metabolism, function and morphology in vivo. Furthermore, in vivo imaging technologies will be complemented by metabolomics on small tumor and tissue samples with our 600 MHz NMR, which is particularly invaluable to study the tumor cell metabolome in some of the projects.
The Poso lab is highly specialized on virtual screening and hit optimization to identify novel drugs targeting proteins of interest. The lab is equipped with docking programs like Gold, Autodock, and Glide and has an access to an in-house database of natural compounds as well as commercially available compound collections. Desolvation effects are studied by MD and WaterMap methods. The necessary computational capacity is provided by the BW-grid and supercomputing resources of the CSC-Center for Scientific Computing Ltd, Finland.
The expertise of this core unit will provide a comprehensive metabolic analysis from a macroscopic down to a molecular scale, supporting the consortium with an exceptional and internationally highly competitive platform. The tools and methods available within this core unit will strongly facilitate the progress in the scientific projects and will lead to a deeper understanding of the molecular processes underlying the targeted therapeutic windows. Finally it will enable the partners of the consortium to develop novel molecules, targeting the identified proteins.